When should you hire a Property Management Company?

Being a landlord can be more tasking than you can imagine. No matter how hard you work to maintain your property, you wonder if you’re doing a good job or if you need more professional help. One of the biggest decisions you will make is to determine whether you need a property management company to manage your property properly.

Regardless of how helpful the idea of hiring a property management company sounds, you need to do your research and make sure it’s the proper choice for you.

Below are some factors to influence your decision of whether or not you should hire the services of a property management company.

What Does a Property Management Company Do?

The job of a property management company is primarily to ease your troubles as a landlord. They deal directly with possible tenants to market your property, collect rent, handle maintenance and repair, respond to the complaints of your tenants and issue evictions. This job description can be executed efficiently if you hire a good property management company as they bring their expertise and experience to your property. You have peace of mind when you know that your property is in good hands and knowing you can eliminate the inconvenience of being and employer since the management company is an independent contractor.

When to hire a Property Management Company?

There is no denying the advantage of the property management company. However, their services will cost you some extra money. Asides the costs, the idea of depending on the property management company does not work for everyone. The factors listed below can be helpful to determine if you need the services of a property management company or not.

You should consider hiring a property management company if:

You own more than one property or your complex has multiple units. If you are like the rest of us then you probably feel there are never enough hours in a day, or days in a week. Free up some of your time by hiring a property management company especially if you have muiltiple properties or a rental complex.

You are not in proximity to your rental property. If the distance from where you live to your rental property is considerable, hiring the services of a property management company will be of great value to you because the distance will be a problem in handling the many issues that could come with a rental property.

You don’t intend to indulge in hands-on management. As many landlords are eager to finding good tenants and maintaining an attractive property all on their own, others want little or nothing to do with the management of their property because they view it just as an investment. If you fall into this category, you should consider hiring the services a property management company

You have limited time. Falling under the category of those who enjoy indulging in hands-on management isn’t enough. You have to be prepared to devote a lot of time to it. This, however, may not be possible especially if being a landlord isn’t your full-time job. You should also consider hiring a property management company if you rather spend your time searching for numerous ways to grow your business.

You can afford it. The services of a property management company are not cheap. Sometimes, they demand about 5-10% of your rent revenue. However, if it’s a down market and you can efficiently manage things yourself, or with the help of a resident manager, it will be a wise decision until the market turns around.

You are overwhelmed with management task. If you were managing your business alone or with the help of a resident manager when you were experiencing a down market, and your business suddenly grows, you might find the task overwhelming. In this case, you should consider hiring.

You don’t want to be an employer. If you hire a resident manager or other employees to help with the management of your property, you can be considered as an employer. By being an employer, you are required to handle payroll and the legal documents as it pertains to your property. Due to all this, some people might not like to be an employer. In that case, you should consider hiring a property management company since they are not your employees.

You are part of an affordable housing program. Things can get herculean when you decide to participate in an affordable housing program. These programs afford landlord the opportunity to get financial assistance that can come in the form of a grant, tax credits or low-interest loan. These assistance programs come with an agreement that the landlord will rent a part of the property to low-income tenants. The landlord must also comply with sweet rules and with all at stake; a property manager should be hired; personnel that has the required expertise and experience when it comes this housing program.

How to Find a Property Management Company

Now a days this is easy. Google allows us to search for anything we want in the matter of seconds. You just have to search for local property management companies and start reading reviews. It’s also a good idea to get recommendations from friends and colleagues.

Last but not least, interview companies to get all your questions answered before handing over the reins.